San Diego , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A U.S. District Court judge declined Friday to release the findings from authorities ' search of accused gunman Jared Lee Loughner 's family home because a federal investigation is still ongoing and a grand jury is preparing an indictment .

Loughner , 22 , is accused of shooting U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords , D-Arizona , and 18 other people on January 8 , six of them fatally .

An indictment could be ready by March 9 , when two Arizona media outlets seeking the results of search warrants could renew their request , Judge Larry Burns said .

In another matter relating to Loughner , Burns said he would not make a ruling on a defense request to withhold two new mug shots of Loughner taken by the U.S. Marshals Service after his arrest in the mass shootings in Tucson , Arizona .

Loughner , who is being held by authorities in Arizona , did not appear in court Friday .

The marshals service attempt to release the two mug shots was based on a 6th Circuit Court ruling , and the judge said he would let media outlets in the 6th Circuit Court region -- Kentucky , Michigan , Ohio and Tennesse -- seek the release of the two mug shots .

Burns was assigned to the Loughner case by the 9th Circuit Court , where he 's based , after Arizona federal judges recused themselves from the case because their state 's chief federal judge was allegedly killed by Loughner . The 9th Circuit Court region includes California and Arizona .

Loughner 's public defenders sought to bar the release of the mug shots after the U.S. Marshals Service planned to release them on February 7 under Freedom of Information Act requests made by 15 individuals , four of them within the 6th Circuit , according to court records and the judge .

But the judge commented that the mug shots of Loughner do n't appear to jeopardize his right to a fair trial .

`` I do not see a serious threat to his ability to get a fair trial if the two mug shots are released , '' Burns said .

Federal prosecutors and Loughner 's public defender have opposed requests to make public the photos , asserting Loughner 's privacy rights and his 6th Amendment guarantee for a fair trial .

The mug shot of a smirking Loughner that has widely appeared in the media was one taken by Pima County , Arizona , authorities after the shootings .

Federal prosecutors also opposed publicly disclosing the inventory of their search of Loughner 's house after the shooting , arguing in court papers that the media does n't have a right to search warrant materials until a formal indictment against Loughner is made .

But David Bodney , an attorney for two Arizona media outlets seeking the search warrant results , said federal officials have already released selective details of the search and added that the First Amendment and federal law provide `` a strong presumptive right of public access '' to the records .

But Bodney 's arguments failed to convince the judge .

`` I think his rulings were very understandable based on the information we heard for the first time ... namely there is still an investigation , '' Bodney said after Friday 's hearing .

The publishing company for the Arizona Republic newspaper and the Phoenix television station KPNX Broadcasting Co. were seeking to make public the results -- or returns -- of at least two search warrants executed in the Loughner case , one issued by a Pima County judge on the day of the shootings and another issued January 12 .

Loughner is accused of shooting Giffords in the head at a `` Congress on Your Corner '' event on January 8 at a Tucson grocery store and then shooting 18 other people , six of them fatally . The dead included Giffords staffer Gabe Zimmerman and U.S. District Judge John Roll . Giffords is recovering in a Houston rehabilitation hospital .

Loughner is charged with one count of attempting to assassinate Giffords and two counts of attempted murder in the shootings of Giffords staffers Pamela Simon and Ron Barber .

Loughner had also faced two murder charges in the deaths of Roll and Zimmerman , but in a procedural maneuver last week , prosecutors temporarily dropped those two charges and plan to bring them back under a superseding indictment that is expected to include other charges as well .

Prosecutors intend to present a superseding indictment containing the murder charges at the next status hearing in the case on March 9 , said Robbie Sherwood , a spokesman for the U.S. attorney 's office in Phoenix .

The federal government will prosecute Loughner before state prosecutors pursue a criminal case against him , federal and state prosecutors said this month .

Friday 's hearing was held in San Diego because presiding Judge Burns and Loughner 's federal public defender , Judy Clarke , are based in the city .

Burns is a 2003 Bush appointee serving in the U.S. District Court for Southern California in San Diego .

Last month , Burns entered not guilty pleas on behalf of Loughner , who declined to tell the court his plea during an arraignment . At that hearing , prosecutors said they had turned over hours of videos taken off Loughner 's home computer to the defense .

Two federal judicial sources told CNN last month they expect Loughner 's attorneys to ask that any trial be moved out of Arizona , possibly to San Diego , but the Justice Department indicated it would oppose a move .

The sources said they expect the defense to make a formal motion in coming weeks to move court proceedings to a neighboring jurisdiction because of pretrial publicity .

Earlier last month , federal sources said that whether to support an out-of-state change of venue , a move that has happened rarely in recent years , appeared to be an ongoing point of disagreement within the Justice Department . A trial also could be held in Arizona outside Tucson , those sources said . There are federal courthouses in Phoenix , Flagstaff and Yuma .

A final decision will be made by Roslyn Silver , the new chief judge of the federal courts in Arizona . The 1994 Clinton appointee to the federal bench has taken over for Roll .

Federal sources said Silver -- if asked to move the trial -- would consult with officials of the 9th Circuit , the federal judicial region that comprises nine Western states .

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NEW : Judge says he wo n't make a ruling on whether two new mug shots should be released

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Judge declines to release findings from authorities ' search of Jared Lee Loughner 's family home

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Loughner is charged in the January 8 mass shooting in Tucson , Arizona